Dancing at Dawn
by OnyxHarmony
Summary: A recon mission in the Birchwood Forest of Ninjago..but Deity and Cole seem to be unable to sleep. Not from nightmares, not from anything. Perhaps the cold is keeping them awake..it may be a good chance for them to finally spend some time together in peace. (CorruptedCole belongs to Grumpy Zane on tumblr, and Deity belongs to me. This is set after the one shot: Before Breakfast)


Deity silently began loading up her bike in the vehicle bay, shaking her head. She had a recon mission with Cole, in the Birchwood Forest. She wasn't angry about it..she just wanted to make sure she had everything she needed. Rubbing her face, she chuckled when she felt a pair of strong arms slip around her and squeeze her from behind. "Cole, what are you doing?" Cole rested his head on top of hers, looking at the bike. "Just trying to make sure you don't worry too much about what might happen, Cupcake. It's just a recon mission." A light blush crossed Deity's face and she smiled. That nickname was..one of her favorites. "I know, I know. I guess I worry too much. Just let me pack the first aid kit? Please?" Cole leaned down and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "Alright, but my bike is all packed up. Don't be too long." After packing and getting on the bikes, they were soon dropped from the vehicle bay and on their way. Driving across the terrain toward the Birchwood Forest, Deity glanced at Cole for a split second before looking away and speeding her bike a bit. Cole chuckled over the com link in his bike helmet. "I saw you look at me. What is it?" Deity revved her bike teasingly and turned back to look at Cole, saluting him before speeding off. "Can't catch me, Rocky!" Cole sped after her, veering his bike closer to her at a safe distance. "Oh? I can't catch a Songbird?" He chuckled and sped off, hearing Deity close behind him. "You-!" Speeding to catch him, Deity revved her bike once she was behind him. "Gotcha!" Cole shook his head. "Oh no you don't!" Speeding off, they soon hit a patch of snow. The race had distracted them from realizing they'd finally arrived in the Birchwood Forest.

After parking their bikes and setting up camp, Cole had noticed the sun was setting. "Deity..hey-" He knelt down beside her as they dug the deep fire pit, pausing and dusting his hands off. "Did you want me to head out and grab some firewood? It'll be too dark to see soon." Watching her give him a nod, Cole got up and headed out into the snow. When he finally returned, Cole began breaking the branches and logs into pieces. Lifting her head from lining the pit with stones, she rubbed the back of her neck. "Babe, I know you're strong, but do you not have an axe with you?" Cole shook his head as he tossed the pieces into the pit, watching Deity back away as he soon started the fire. "Don't need one, Cupcake." He chuckled and slowly sat beside her, watching the flames. "You know..this is kinda nice." Deity frowned and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" He shrugged and smiled at her. "I mean, this is a recon mission..but its nice to spend some time with you. Y'know, away from the chaos that happens in the ship sometimes." Deity scooted a little closer and leaned on him, feeling him squeeze her once he slipped an arm around her. She stared at the fire, listening to it crackle and pop in the silent night. "Yeah..it is kinda nice, isn't it? No distractions, no fighting..just-" Cole pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Us. Just us." With the sun down and the cold night settling in, a few hours had passed before Deity was finally cold enough to cuddle up closer to Cole and the fire. He looked down at her and carefully tugged her into his lap, digging in his bag of supplies. "What are you doing?" Deity frowned, watching Cole look through his bag. "I'm..aha! I knew I packed it." Triumphantly pulling the lavender blanket out, Cole wrapped it around the two of them as Deity stretched and got comfortable.

"You kept this..?" Deity leaned her head back, looking up at him. He smiled, leaning down and giving her a brief kiss. Pulling away a bit, Cole nodded. "Yeah..I mean, you made it and it's warm.." He chuckled a little. "Why, is that not okay? You're very skilled at making stuff like this, so..why not keep something you made for us?" Lifting his head to check the perimeter of their camp briefly, Cole looked back down at her and smiled-only to find her hiding in the blanket and grumbling to herself. "Whats wrong, Deity?" Carefully opening the blanket a little bit, he chuckled when he saw Deity blushing and rubbing her arms. "M'not talented, Cole.." He picked her up and turned her around, sitting her in his lap so she was facing him. "I think you are. I mean, you're pretty sweet, too." She looked down, her cheeks only turning a darker shade of red. "Coooole..-" He lifted her chin and grinned. "What? What is it?" Deity buried her head in his chest, feeling him close the blanket around them again. "I love you, Cole." She felt him kiss the top of her head, giggling and slipping her arms around him to squeeze him. "I love you too, Deity. I really do." In the next five hours, Deity had moved back to his side again..but neither of them had been to sleep yet. "Babe..what time is it?" Cole looked at his phone, raising an eyebrow. "Almost two in the morning, why?" Deity sighed and stared at the fire, adding another stick to it. "I'm not tired..I know, shocker." Standing and tugging the blanket away, Cole squeezed her shoulder, offering his hand. He knew she always tried her best to sleep. But..he couldn't sleep either. Maybe he could at least help her smile. "Take my hand, Deity." Frowning and turning to look at Cole, she did as she was asked and pulled herself up with his help. "Why did you want me to stand up?"

Cole shook his head and looked her over. "Your joints on your prosthetics are alright, aren't they?" Deity looked a bit confused. "Yeah..they're fine, why?" Pulling her a little closer and placing his hand on her back, he only smiled. "I want you to be able to move easily with me when we dance, Songbird." _Dance?_ Deity lifted her head and stared at him for a moment while he put her left hand on his shoulder. "Cole, we've never-" Gently squeezing her hand, he nodded. His voice was soft, gravelly tones low enough for just her to hear. "I know. But..can we?" A slow blush crossed her face, and she nodded. "I..yeah, I guess so. I mean your dad taught me after a lost my l-" Cole shushed her, shaking his head. "Just..us. All that other stuff is back on the ship, alright? It's just us out here. No bad memories, just-" Deity nodded and laid her head on his shoulder as they began to dance in the snow. "Just us.." She shut her eyes when she felt Cole squeeze her. "That's right." Silently moving with her, Cole chuckled a little. "You know, I could never find a good time to dance with you." Deity frowned and lifted her head to watch him as he smiled at her. "What do you mean?" Cole sighed and pulled her close against him. "Well..I mean..with all the missions..and..other things that have been occupying our life, I couldn't find the time for us to be alone, to just-" Kissing his cheek, she chuckled and laid her head in his neck. "To just be us, right?" Deity slipped her hand out of his and held onto him, hugging him as they moved. "Yeah.." Resting his head against hers, he slipped his arms around her and squeezed her. "How long has it been now?" Shutting her eyes for a moment, she tried to think. "Since we've been together? I don't know..six and a half? Maybe seven..? I can't think at the moment."

All she knew is that she and Zane had made amends with each other recently, after a big misunderstanding six months after they'd all escaped Chen's Island. "Time seems to slip away from me when I'm around you." He said, giving her a tighter squeeze. Deity silently pressed a small kiss to his neck in response, and Cole shivered as a light blush crossed his face. "Heh..I love you too." They'd dancing been for a few hours by this point, slowly moving across the snow. "Cole..?" Deity carefully lifted her head. "Hey.." Her voice was soft, and calm-she sounded content. "I'm glad I met you, no matter whats happened between us." Cole felt the heat of a blush creeping into his cheeks again. "Deity-" Shaking her head, she leaned up and gave him a kiss, shutting her eyes when she felt Cole kissing back. Pulling away after a few moments, she smiled. "Nothing could ever change how I feel about you. I promise. Not in a hundred lifetimes." Cole watched her, feeling heat flooding his face as his blush got worse. "I..-" Deity chuckled and gave him a squeeze, laying her head back down in his neck as they kept moving. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be." Cole shut his eyes for a second, taking a calming breath. "I know, Songbird. I know. I don't wanna be anywhere else, either." He rested his head against hers and smiled. "I'm glad you stayed with me." Deity mumbled something, shifting a bit to get comfortable. "What was that..?" She smiled, nuzzling into his neck a little. "I said..I'm glad I stayed, too." Cole chuckled, shaking his head and squeezing her again. "You sound like you're about to fall-" A quiet snore was all he heard next, looking down at Deity-who was fast asleep. His expression softened into a smile when he saw her peacefully sleeping on him. Picking her up and holding her in his arms, Cole laid her down on her sleeping bag. After carefully zipping her inside, he sat down and leaned against a nearby tree, shutting his eyes for a moment.

 _ **"Rest easy, Songbird. I'll be here when you wake up..I promise."**_


End file.
